tropextrakt, importer of exotic fruit and niche products, now offers an additional speciality to the food and beverage industry: The calamansi is a particularly small type of citrus fruit that thrives in tropical regions, with a long culinary tradition there. The pure juice of the calamansi is suitable for refining a range of foods and beverages, from various drinks and dairy products to ice cream and sauces. The Frankfurt company obtains the fruit juice in NFC quality directly from its supplier in Vietnam.
The calamansi is one of the most exciting new discoveries that tropextrakt has in store for its customers in the coming year. Although it sounds like an exotic, unknown fruit right now, it has the potential to start a new taste trend in foods and beverages that can already be seen in the USA, for example. The calamansi, with its scientific name of “Citrofortunella microcarpa”, conceals powerful potential under its delicate peel with a great variety of flavours: sweet-sour and refreshing, it is reminiscent of mandarin orange, bitter orange, lime and pink grapefruit.
A wide variety of flavours for the food and beverage industry
“The unique flavour of the calamansi is perfect for exotic taste experiences and can make a subtle difference in many foods and beverages”, explains Ingo Kniepert, Managing Director of tropextrakt. “The calamansi, for example, corresponds perfectly with familiar ingredients like orange juice or vanilla.” The refreshing and sweet-sour nuances also develop very well in combination with grapefruit in soft drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers and many other drinks, including milkshakes. The juice is also suitable for fruity blends in dairy products, ice cream, marmalades, jams, fruit sauces and sweets. Its taste components also come into their own in dressings, chutneys and desserts. The calamansi harmonises well with apple, mirabelle and blackcurrant, and herbs and spices including cinnamon, peppermint and vanilla. Tropextrakt has tested these and other combinations in its own application lab, where special applications for customers in the food and beverage industry can be developed on request.
Year-round harvest – transparent production
The calamansi, a particularly small type of citrus fruit, is a hybrid between the mandarin orange and the oval kumquat. Externally, it resembles a lime, but is much smaller. Unlike other citrus fruits, the calamansi has a thin, delicate peel, which is why the fruit has to be cut from the tree by hand. tropextrakt obtains the unadulterated calamansi juice from Vietnam, where the fruits grow, are harvested and processed into pure calamansi juice in NFC quality all year round. “It”s very important to us that our products are left in their natural state, thus complying with the Clean Label standard”, says Kniepert. tropextrakt imports its raw materials from the producers themselves in order to be able to influence the corresponding quality and hygiene standards on site. Every batch can be traced back directly to one of the 500 family businesses with calamansi plantations. Additionally, the producer guarantees the fruit will be processed in accordance with ISO 2000 and the BRC Food and HACCP standards. Both the Vietnamese producer and tropextrakt are Sedex-certified and have made a commitment to sustainable supply chains. In doing so, tropextrakt also makes a contribution to the small plantations in Vietnam, where calamansi cultivation with controlled labour conditions helps in the fight against poverty